Spain heads to Series Mania with a slate that underlines the growing breadth, confidence and ambition of its scripted TV business. Presented by ICEX under its Audiovisual from Spain banner, Coming Next From Spain lands in Lille on March 24 as part of Spain’s wider presence at Series Mania Forum 2026.
As in previous editions, the showcase places a select group of Spanish series before buyers and international press, offering a focused snapshot of the projects local companies see as best placed to move beyond the domestic market.
This year’s six titles point to a sector working across a wider creative spectrum than in the past. The lineup runs from literary period drama and urban social thriller to tech suspense, family mystery, true-event drama and generational comedy. With that notable diversity, Spanish fiction is no longer framed internationally through one prevailing model, whether glossy thrillers, YA drama or the long tail of earlier crossover hits. What emerges instead is a broader offer, calibrated to different audiences, platforms and programming needs.
Two strengths stand out. One is the continued pull of recognizable source material. “The Maid’s Daughters,” adapted from Sonsoles Ónega’s Premio Planeta-winning novel, draws on the durable appeal of literary IP, while “A 100-Million Reward” revisits the 1981 kidnapping of soccer idol Quini, turning a deeply embedded real-life case into serialized drama. In both cases, familiarity gives audiences an immediate entry point while allowing the series to play on a broad dramatic scale.
The other is a strong sense of place. “Ravalear” is inseparable from Barcelona’s Raval, where family survival collides with speculation and displacement. “Day One” uses Barcelona’s technological landmarks as the setting for a thriller about innovation and human cost. “Pure Bred” builds its world around land, bloodline and inherited privilege. These are series in which setting is not decorative, but fundamental to the drama.
The selection also reflects the range of players now active in Spanish TV, from Atresmedia, HBO Max, Prime Video, Mediaset España and Movistar Plus+ to Filmin and an increasingly fluid Spain-Portugal co-production axis.
What Coming Next From Spain suggests in Lille this year is a Spanish scripted business marked by range, growing confidence and an increasingly clear sense of the stories it wants to bring to the international market. The selected titles:
“The Maid’s Daughters” (“Las hijas de la criada,” Atresmedia, Buendía Estudios Canarias)
Based on Sonsoles Ónega’s Premio Planeta-winning novel, “The Maid’s Daughters” is set in Galicia at the turn of the 20th century. Two girls born on the same day in a manor house see their lives altered by an act of revenge that changes their place within a powerful family. Directed by Menna Fité (“Élite”) and “Sex Easy, Movies Hard” Alejo Flah, the series follows a household shaped by class tension, inheritance disputes and concealed motives.
As the consequences of that initial act spread through the household, the story develops through status, bloodline and resentment, building into a period drama centered on betrayal, ambition and the struggle for position within the family. Atresmedia Sales handles international distribution.
“Not For Sale” (“Ravalear,” Arcadia Motion Pictures, Supernova, 3Cat, Umedia)
Created by Pol Rodríguez and directed by Rodríguez and Isaki Lacuesta, the two-time winner of the San Sebastián Film Festival’s Golden Shell, “Not for Sale” follows a family restaurant in Barcelona’s Raval as it comes under threat from a corrupt investment fund trying to force it out. As pressure mounts, three generations are drawn into a fight to protect their business and hold onto their place in the neighborhood.
The series centers on eviction pressure, neighborhood change and the strain these forces place on the family. Told with a distinctly cinematic approach, “Not for Sale’s” story is rooted in one of Barcelona’s most emblematic districts. Produced by Arcadia as an HBO Original, “Not for Sale” was selected for the official program of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival. Filmax handles world sales.
LANDER LARRANAGA
“Day One” (iZen, Zebra Producciones, NewCo Audiovisual, Documentales en Canarias)
Directed by Marta Pahissa and Víctor Cuadrado, “Day One” follows Ulises Albet, a former computer prodigy who left Barcelona and the tech world behind after the death of his younger sister. 10 years later, a warning from his former partner brings him back during the Mobile World Congress, confronting him with a threat linked to technology, his past and the possibility of a wider catastrophe.
The six-part series stars Álex González, Alba Planas, Jordi Mollà, Asier Etxeandia and Renata Notni. Shot in several major technology sites in Barcelona, the story combines personal loss with a suspense plot tied to digital innovation and its consequences. Prime Video premiered the series on March 13, with 3Cat set to follow.
“Pure Bred” (“Pura sangre,” Mediaset España, Shine Iberia)
The poisoning of a champion stallion opens an investigation that starts to expose tensions and secrets inside an aristocratic horse breeding dynasty. As suspicion spreads, the series follows the fractures inside a family built on lineage, property and control.
The drama combines a family saga with a mystery plot. The crime becomes the trigger for a broader story about rivalry, loyalty and the pressure of maintaining status inside a powerful household. The production teams Mediaset España with Shine Iberia and is sold internationally by Mediterráneo.
“A 100-Million Reward” (“Por cien millones,” Movistar Plus+, Felicitas Media)
Created and directed by Nacho G. Velilla, the series revisits the 1981 kidnapping of FC Barcelona striker Enrique Castro “Quini.” The series follows three mechanics from Zaragoza who, overwhelmed by debt and unemployment, decide to abduct the country’s top scorer in a desperate attempt to change their lives.
Raúl Arévalo, Vito Sanz and Gabriel Guevara topline the cast. The series follows the planning, execution and fallout of the kidnapping, turning a widely remembered real-life event into a character-driven drama. It launches on Movistar Plus+ on March 26.
“Millennial Mal” (Tornasol Media, Ukbar Filmes, Filmin, RTP)
Created by Lorena Iglesias and co-directed with Andrea Jaurrieta, the series follows Judith, a 42-year-old librarian struggling with debt and precariousness who receives, through a bureaucratic error, a university scholarship reserved for students under 30. To keep it, she decides to pose as a twenty-something and re-enter campus life with the help of two younger women.
Produced by Spain’s Tornasol Media, Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes and streaming platform Filmin, with Portuguese broadcaster RTP also aboard, the series follows how Judith’s false identity begins to reshape her daily life and sense of self. What starts as a practical deception becomes more complicated as she adapts to a younger social world. Italy’s True Colours handles international sales.
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